tercel

ter·cel

var. of tiercel

tercel

also tier·cel

noun

A male falcon or hawk, especially a peregrine falcon or gyrfalcon.

Origin of tercel

Middle English from Old French terçuelfrom Vulgar Latin tertiōlusdiminutive of Latin tertiusthird ( perhaps because the third egg in every clutch was thought to hatch into a male, or because male hawks were said to be a third smaller than females ); see trei- in Indo-European roots.